The Pressures of Being Fifteen

Our Everly Mag Writing Leaders were asked the question, what do you think is the biggest pressure teens your age are facing today? We wanted to know what different types of pressure different teens might face and how we can all help each other with relieving some of this pressure.

I believe one of the biggest pressures at age 15 is to be successful. Everyone needs to post certain pictures, wear certain clothes, hangout with the right people, get good grades, and be happy. At 15 there is a constant need to have the perfect life. These pressures can be found in school, parties, and social media. I have had many experiences with these pressures. I have learned that it is best to be yourself. As teenagers, we need to learn that it is ok to be yourself. We also need to learn that it is ok to be sad and fail sometimes.

A big pressure as a teenager is to be able to have nice clothing and post certain pictures. You must post pictures of you at parties and having fun, when behind the screen you’re just acting like you are happy. As a teenager, you are also pressured into having to look nice. You must wear the newest clothes and shoes. Sometimes we don’t realize that it is okay to not post some pictures and have the most fashionable clothing.

Image: Nick Miller via Unsplash

Another big pressure is to hang out with certain people. I have had this experience before. I was judged by some of my friends for being friends with a new girl. I learned that I shouldn’t care about what others think. I ended up being best friends with the new girl. You shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are friends with. If you are happy that’s all that matters.

Getting good grades is a big pressure in high school. Whenever the teacher passes out grades everyone will start to ask each other what they got. I would always get embarrassed if I got a bad grade, because if they knew I failed they would think I wasn’t smart. Some people in my class would complain about getting a 90 and it would make me really embarrassed. There is also pressure from parents. If you fail you could get grounded. It is ok if you fail a test you can always learn from your mistakes.

As teens, we need to learn it is ok to be yourself. These pressures don’t have to define who you are as a person. You should be able to wear what you want and talk to who want to. It’s ok if you mess up or get embarrassed, there will always be better days. I have had many experiences with these pressures. I have learned that is better to be yourself than pretend to be someone else. You will be happier if you are yourself. There are many pressures for 15-year old’s today.